THE PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER

OSTMANN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

“Exploring the Spirit of Learning” PHONE: (636) 281-3382 FAX: (636) 281-3372

Fort Zumwalt School District Web Site: www.fz.k12.mo.us

Dr. Bernard J. DuBray, Superintendent Dr. Gregg S. Sartorius, Principal

Mr. Dave Brown, Asst. Principal

SEPTEMBER 2015

Dear Parents, Students and Community Members,

Our students and school continue to make positive academic gains on the Missouri Assessment Pro-

gram tests each year. We continue to move in a positive direction with improving student achievement. As

we continue to move forward with new curriculum initiatives and teaching strategies students will make great-

er increases in their learning. Our students’ success is a credit to our students, teachers, support staff and of

course the parent support of our school and the programs we have initiated. Everyone has a great deal to be

proud of as we continue the trend of improving student learning.

As we enter into this school year we will continue to use the Math-in-Focus strategies, as well as make

a concerted effort to improve English/Language Arts knowledge and skills. We hope to see even greater gains

in the years ahead with these new approaches. Our teachers will also continue to work on creating common

formative assessments, analyze results and develop strategies to improve the instructional process and student

learning. As the teachers develop proficiency with this process, we expect to see more targeted, individual-

ized instruction for students, as well as interventions for students struggling with specific concepts.

We will have nine (9) Early Release days this year to provide professional development activities for

the staff. On these nine days of school the students will be released at 1:30 p.m. We e-mailed the “Early Re-

lease/Dismissal” form for parents to turn in on the Open House night. If you have not done so, please com-

plete one for each of your children indicating how each will travel on Early Release days. Our first Early Re-

lease day is Thursday, September 3. Please plan ahead and be sure you have communicated how your

child is going home on this day.

To our new families, and as a reminder to all others, we have priorities that are consistent with our

District priorities and our State goals and objectives. For over a decade the Ostmann Elementary School com-

munity has believed that character education is the foundation for academic success. While we as a school

naturally focus on student achievement, we also understand that setting a positive climate that is conducive for

learning is equally important. Therefore, we emphasize Respect, Responsibility, Caring, and Commitment as

the four main directional points of the Explorer’s Compass. With a culture based on these virtues, we can fo-

cus our energies on creating lifelong learners who are becoming proficient readers, writers and mathemati-

cians. This year we will continue to maintain an emphasis on student safety, character education and improv-

ing student achievement by integrating the curriculum, ensuring that all students are engaged and promoting

student goal setting.

Many of the staff attended workshops over the summer to develop strategies to provide high quality

instruction and refine methods to ensure that all students are engaged in the learning process. As we move

through the school year we expect that all students achieve academically, as well as socially. If you do not

feel that your child is making adequate progress, please speak with his/her teacher and share ideas about what

may help him or her grow.

I look forward to another exciting year of growth and learning, and as always, to your continued part-

nership as we “Explore the Spirit of Learning” together.

Gregg S. Sartorius

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DATES TO REMEMBER Sept. 3 Early Release 1:30 p.m. Sept. 7 No School - Labor Day

Sept. 9 Papa John’s Night

Sept 10 School Night for Scouting 7:00 p.m. Mid point 1st quarter

Sept. 15 PTO Meeting, Library, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 20-24 5th Grade Camp

Oct. 1 Early Release 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 6 McDonald’s Reading Night 4 - 8 p.m.

Oct. 8 End of 1st quarter

Oct. 9 No School for Students/Records Day

Oct. 12 Scholastic Book Fair

Oct. 13 Parent/Teacher Conferences 5 p.m.– 8 p.m.

Oct. 14 No School for Students Parent/Teacher Conferences, 10 am. - 8 p.m.

Oct. 15-16 No School , Fall Break

Oct. 26-30 Red Ribbon Week

Oct. 29 Fall Party for 3rd-5th Grades, 2:45—3:45 p.m.

Oct. 30 Fall Party for K-2nd Grades, 2:45—3:45 p.m.

5TH GRADE CAMP Important Dates and Times

Drop Off at Camp Derricotte: Sunday, September 20th

3:00-4:00 p.m. Campers return to Ostmann Elementary:

Thursday, September 24th 6:00 p.m.

Please pick up campers upon arrival

Camp Address Cuivre River State Park

Camp Derricotte 678 State Road, Rte. 147

Troy, MO 63379

P.E. News Welcome back to a new year here at Ostmann! We wanted to give you a few reminders about P.E. as your children are get-ting back into the swing of things. First of all, please remind your child to make sure they bring tennis shoes to every P.E. class. We are striving for 100% participation this year and are offering rewards to classes that reach their goal of having all kids remember their shoes. Students who are wearing boots, crocs, sandals, or flip-flops will not be allowed to participate in P.E. for the day. If you have any doctor’s notes, please send them into school to excuse your child from P.E. Lastly, please encourage your child to come to P.E. with a great attitude. We want to see every student giving their best effort no matter the game or ac-tivity.

Mr. Hadfield and Mrs. Alagna

OFFICIAL SCHOOL TIMES Our school day begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m. Supervision is not provided until 8:45 a.m. each morning. Stu-dents are not to be dropped off until this time, with the excep-tion of Y-Club children. All students must enter the building through the main entrance near the flagpole.

To report an absence, please call the office by 9:15 a.m. Ost-mann phone numbers are:

636-281-3382 (local)

636-978-4548 (metro)

636-281-3372 (fax)

ART CORNER We are starting off the year with lots of creativity in the art room! Just as a friendly reminder, please note the letter day(s) that your child attends art and be sure to dress them accordingly. Washable materials will be used as often as pos-sible, however, spills and stains are likely to happen. Paint shirts for K-1st grade students should be brought to your child’s homeroom teacher in a labeled ziplock bag; 2nd-5th graders can store a paint shirt in their backpack for art days. Art Club will be offered to 3rd grade students only. The club will be separated into two groups: Art Club 1 (Sept. 22nd

– Dec 15th)& Art Club 2 (Jan. 5th - April 19th). There will be a $10 fee (for a t-shirt and supplies). Applications will be sent home soon. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at rschaub@fz.k12.mo.us.

VISITORS TO THE BUILDING All visitors must report to the school office when entering the build-ing to sign in and obtain a visitor’s ID badge. No visitor should go di-rectly to any class. This will assist us in keeping a safe environment. Stu-dents will only be dismissed from the classroom through the office. A photo identification will be required from everyone signing a student out from the office. If you are just dropping off an item for your child, it can be left in the office and we will ensure that it gets to the correct class-room.

DROPPING OFF AND PICKING UP CHILDREN

At Ostmann our bus loop is on the north side of the building for those children riding the bus to and from home. This allows parents who carpool their children to drop off and pick up their children in front of the building without getting caught in the bus lines. Please follow the following guidelines when dropping off and picking up your children to ensure safety for everyone. The lane in front of the building near the sidewalk is

for dropping students off and/or picking them up. Please use caution when pulling away from the curb and when approaching the safety patrol.

Parents are not to create two lanes of traffic for

dropping off/picking up children. Parents must wait in their cars in line and move up slowly to pick up and drop off children. Do not get out of your car while you are waiting in line. A teacher will assist your child to your car in a safe and timely manner.

If a parent needs to enter the building for any rea-

son, please park in the parking lot and do not double park in front of the building or along the curb. Please do not block the handicapped parking area.

Children are not allowed to cross the crosswalk by

themselves. You must wait in the carpool line or park your car and come get your child.

Thank you for keeping Ostmann safe !

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Welcome New Explorers We would like to welcome the following students to Ostmann Elementary: Ezree Johnson, Amaree Johnson, Azaree Johnson, Camden Henderson, Clay Bowman, Avery Bowman, Aaron Mathews, Evan Harris, Alia Davis, McIntyre Rohloff, Addison Rohloff, Elijah Halpryn, Mackenzie Dunn, Madison Dudley, and Savannah Harward.

Ostmann Elementary Lego Robotics Club

This year in Robotics we will be offering a fall session for

fourth graders to learn the basics of Robotics and Lego Mindstorms programming. A spring session will be offered for fifth graders to challenge their previous knowledge with Robotics. Both will be 6 week sessions. There will be more information to follow later in September.

FORT ZUMWALT WEB SITE The Fort Zumwalt web site is a wealth of information! Many of the questions you have may be answered by visiting our site at www.fz.k12.mo.us. Items of interest to everyone are listed on the main page (school calendars for this year & next, lunch menus, etc.) You will also find links to each individual school. Happy surf-ing!

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IMPORTANT NUMBERS CRISIS INTERVENTION HOTLINE

(24 hours toll free) Suicide, Troubled Teens & Family 1-800-999-9999

CRISIS/SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE Suicide, Any Kind of Crisis (24 hours toll free)

1-800-273-8255 K.U.T.O. (KIDS UNDER 21) (24 hours)

Suicide Prevention/Crisis Helpline 314-644-5886 or 1-800-999-9999

YOUTH EMERGENCY SERVICES (24 hours) Suicide, Any Kind of Crisis 314-727-6294 (local)

NATIONAL HOPELINE NETWORK Suicide Hotline (24 hours)

1-800-784-2433 ( toll free)

FT. ZUMWALT SAFELINE PHONE NUMBER

The Fort Zumwalt School District provides a Safeline to as-sist our families and students in reporting the following: Situations involving the safety of students or staff Threats of violence Sexual harassment Abuse (physical or sexual) Crisis situations such as death or health issues Suspected drug or alcohol use or distribution. This “Safeline” is managed by a district Crisis Counselor be-tween the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and may be utilized by anyone needing to share urgent information. A message left on voicemail will be returned as soon as possible. If immediate assistance is needed, please call 911. (This is not a suicide hotline.) Please utilize this for the reporting of vital information on-ly. Routine school questions should be directed to the school office during the regularly scheduled office hours.

SAFELINE PHONE NUMBER 314-941-0331

Explorers Respect Pledge

I pledge to take care of my school and everything in it I will be a responsible learner Respect myself and others And maintain the Explorer Spirit of Learning I shall always do my best in everything I do

KidGuard Program Parents can purchase additional insurance protection for accidents that may occur while students are away from school, at home, during the weekends and vacation periods, including the summer months. For information regarding this optional coverage, call the Lawrence E. Smith & Associates Insurance Agency at 1-800-325-1350, or e-mail a request for information to lucyw@lesmith.net.

STUDENT ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL Any student that comes to school late or leaves early must be signed in/out in the office. If we do not know the person picking up the stu-dent, we will ask for identification. We appreciate your understanding with this procedure. We have approximately 600 students in attend-ance and it is impossible for us to know everyone that picks up our students. Please understand, we do this to protect the safety of all our children. Please keep dismissal changes to a minimum. Frequent changes can confuse your child and make it harder for our staff to accommodate so many changes. When it is necessary to change your child’s dismissal routine we need a note written to the teacher stating the change for your child. It is important for you to include the name of the adult that will be signing your child out, so we have that information in the office. If you want your child dismissed with parent pick-up, just state that information in your note. However, if a last minute change needs to be made, please call the office no later than 3:00 p.m. so we have enough time to notify the student. When a phone call is absolutely necessary, you may be asked to verify your identity (if we do not rec-ognize your voice). Students will always be dismissed the same way everyday, unless we receive a note or call from a parent/guardian. If you are picking up your child for an appointment, please sign them out before 3:45 p.m. Please make sure you park in the parking lot and not in the carpool lane. Thank you!!

Pizza Night Changes to Pizza Night! We will continue to have a

Papa John’s Pizza Night every month. There will be a tracking code listed on the flyer that must be used when placing your order for Ostmann to receive credit. This is a great way to support our school!

Pizza Night is September 9th!

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EXPLORERS BOOK CLUB The Explorers Book Club is a program that families and friends can use to honor students, staff, or other special people while helping our library fill its shelves. Books may be donated to celebrate your child’s birthday, mark a spe-

cial event such as winning a soccer tournament, advancing a level in scouts, in memory of a loved one, or even the birth of a new baby in your family. Ideas are only limited by your imagination. For ten dollars you may pick a book from a collection of new books that are just waiting to be chosen. The special book you choose will include a bookplate that honors the recipient and donor with his/her name. The librarian will deliver the book to your child’s classroom. Your child will have his/her picture taken, which will be dis-played on the bulletin board outside the library. Your child will be the first to check out that book and bring it home to joyously share with your family. When the book is re-turned it will become part of the library’s permanent collec-tion. Last year we had over 180 students participate in the Ex-plorers Book Club, contributing $1,800 to the library! We will send a reminder letter home with your child the month before his or her birthday. If your child's birthday is in June, July or August, we will send a letter home the month prior to his or her half-birthday. We hope you are able to participate in this wonderful program.

DRESS CODE Parents have the basic responsibility for the appropriate dress and grooming of their children. Dress or grooming on the part of the student should not be detrimental to their safety and health, or be distracting or disruptive to the learning environment. Whenever possible, students who dress in a manner inappropriate will be offered the option of borrowing a t-shirt from the clinic before a call is placed to the parent(s). Please remember tennis shoes are always required for P.E. class. If your child likes to play on the outdoor equip-ment, we require that tennis shoes be worn (flip-flops and backless shoes are not safe to wear while climbing on the equipment).

NEWS FROM THE NURSE As we start the year here at Ostmann we would like to remind everyone of the policies estab-lished by the district regarding the administration of medications. Prescription Medication: The clinic needs a note from your doctor explaining the reason for giv-ing the medication, along with the dosage amount, times to be given and the doctor’s signature. The medication needs to come in the original pharmacy bottle with the child’s name, type of medication, and dosage amount listed on the label. Please remember medications cannot be sent home on the bus with a child (including over-the-counter medications). If your child has a prescription and he/she will need to take this medication at school, inform the pharmacy that you will need two bottles. Otherwise, you will need to pick up the prescription everyday after school. Also, the nurse cannot give the first dose of any medication. This in-cludes any antibiotic, even if the child has had this antibiotic before. If your child is on a medication and the doctor in-creases the dose, please do not give the first dose of the in-creased amount on a school day. Over-The-Counter Medication: The nurse can give over-the-counter medication with advanced written approval from the parent or guardian. Contagious Illnesses: If your child has a contagious ill-ness (chicken pox, pink eye, strep throat), please notify the office. If your child has a fever, please do not send them to school even if they had the fever the night before. The Dis-trict recommends students stay out of school for a fever for 24 hours after their temperature returns to normal without the use of medications containing a fever reducer. Students vomiting without a fever can return at the parent’s discre-tion. If your child is diagnosed with strep or pink eye they cannot come back to school until they have been medicated for 24 hours.

BUS RIDERS The Transportation Center has asked us to remind par-ents that students may not change buses to ride home with friends. If your child is a bus rider and you are planning on picking him/her up, please remember to send a note to your child’s teacher. Children without a note whose parents cannot be contacted at the end of the day to verify the change in transportation will be sent home on the bus.

Any bus changes (either temporary or permanent) must be approved by Transportation. Call: #636-240-3138. The school principal cannot grant a request of this nature.

If transportation can grant the request, they will notify the school office and we will make sure your child gets on the correct bus.

Please review the bus rules with your child, which were sent home the first week of school. It is very important that all children understand and follow the rules to protect the welfare of everyone on the bus. Please encourage your child to listen and obey the bus driver.

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Lunch Charges The “lunch account” system that has been in place for several years allows parents the opportunity to deposit money into their child’s lunch account at any time. In doing this on a regular basis, a positive balance is always maintained. Letters informing parents of negative balances are routinely e-mailed. Student’s charge may not exceed $6.00. Upon reaching this amount, they will not be allowed to charge again and will be given a cheese sandwich, a fruit, and a drink for the charge of $1.00 for a full paying student and $0.40 for a reduced paying student.

FREE/REDUCED LUNCH

STATEMENT The Fort Zumwalt School District participates in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. Children from fami-lies whose current income has either temporarily or permanently fallen below certain Federal guidelines can qualify for free and reduced price meals. The identity of qualified children is completely confidential and the district goes to great lengths to keep these children anonymous from their peers.

Parents should consider taking advantage of this valuable program should their current financial circumstances warrant participation. Ap-plications are available from the school office.

Please remember that you need to reapply for this service each new school year.

LUNCH PRICES

The district offers students the opportunity to purchase a bal-anced breakfast and lunch on a daily basis. The cost for these are as follows: Breakfast Lunch Student Meals $1.40 $2.30 Adult Meals $1.60 $2.95 *Milk $ .60 $ .60 *Juice $ .40 $ .40 * Water $ .50 $ .50 When ordering a plate breakfast or lunch, the drink is included with the meal. If you would like to eat breakfast or lunch with your child, we ask that you call the office in advance so that we may notify the kitchen. Breakfast is available at 8:45 a.m.

ATTENTION The Fort Zumwalt School District will continue to use an automated calling system as a method of communication in a crisis, emergency or school closing situation. It is ex-tremely important that you carefully check the numbers listed on your Emergency Verification Sheet for:

Home = the first number you want called Cell #1 = can be the same as home, or an alt. number Cell #2 = can be an alternate number or left blank

These numbers will be utilized in the event a broadcast is necessary. Calls before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. will only be sent to the number you have listed as Home. Additional information is provided at www.fz.k12.mo.us.

Lunch PIN Please practice entering lunch PINs with your children. Having the number memorized helps the lunch line move quicker.

PUBLIC NOTICE

All responsible public agencies are required to locate, evaluate, and identify children with disabilities who are

under the jurisdiction of the agency, regardless of the severity of the disability, including children attending

private schools, highly mobile children, such as migrant and homeless children, and children who are suspect-

ed of having a disability and in need of special education even though they are advancing from grade to grade.

The Fort Zumwalt School District assures that it will provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to all

eligible children with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 under its jurisdiction. Disabilities include au-

tism, deaf/blindness, emotional disorders, hearing impairment and deafness, intellectual disabilities/mental re-

tardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairments, specific learning disabilities,

speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment/blindness and young child with a

developmental delay.

The Fort Zumwalt School District assures that it will provide information and referral services necessary to assist the State in the

implementation of early intervention services for infants and toddlers eligible for the Missouri First Steps program.

The Fort Zumwalt School District assures that personally identifiable information collected, used, or maintained by the agency for

the purposes of identification, evaluation, placement or provision of FAPE of children with disabilities may be inspected and/or re-

viewed by their parents/guardians. Parents/guardians may request amendment to the educational record if the parent/guardian be-

lieves the record is inaccurate, misleading, or violates the privacy or other rights of their child. Parents have the right to file com-

plaints with the U.S. Department of Education or the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education concerning al-

leged failures by the district to meet the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

The Fort Zumwalt School District has developed a Local Compliance Plan for the implementation of State Regulations for the Indi-

viduals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This plan contains the agency’s policies and procedures regarding storage, disclo-

sure to third parties, retention and destruction of personally identifiable information and the agency’s assurances that services are

provided in compliance with the General Education Provision Act (GEPA). This plan may be reviewed during regular school hours,

on days school is in session, in the office of the Superintendent of Schools.

Local school districts in the State of Missouri are required to conduct an annual census of all children with disabilities or suspected

disabilities from birth to age twenty-one (21) that reside in the district. This census must be compiled by December 1 of each year.

This information is treated as confidential and must include: name of the child; parent/legal guardian’s name/address; birth date and

age of the child; the child’s disability; and the services provided to the child. If you have a child with a disability or know of a child

with a disability who is not attending the public school, please contact Dr. Henry St. Pierre, Fort Zumwalt’s Assistant Superintendent

for Special Services, at 636-272-6620, ext 18349.

This notice will be provided in native languages as appropriate.